Sport Witness

Tottenham are back on Rayan’s trail after fresh reports from Brazil. Sources detailed renewed admiration for the Vasco forward, even after a recent contract extension.

According to NT Vascaínos, Spurs staff revisited his latest performance. Matt Wells, assistant coach at Tottenham (who will soon be joining Colorado Rapids), alongside Alex Fraser from the club’s scouting department, analysed footage of Vasco’s recent win over Fluminense. They came away convinced they are watching one of the standout young attackers in Brazilian football.

Both were said to be impressed by Rayan’s display. They now see the 19-year-old as a priority profile. Internally, Spurs understand that any move would require a fee above €40m.

Vasco, however, have moved quickly to strengthen their position. Globo Esporte confirmed the club renewed Rayan’s contract until 2028 over the weekend, inserting a release clause of €80m.

The agreement is described as a strategic move to shield the player from January pressure, with the club seeing the middle of next year as a more realistic window for negotiations.

Behind the scenes, Vasco acknowledge European approaches are inevitable. Still, the plan is clear: keep Rayan central to the sporting project while maximising his value.

That status was underlined by Nike choosing him as the face of the club’s new kit launch. Nike, notably, also supply Tottenham.

Tottenham Hotspur allowed Manor Solomon to join Villarreal on a season-long loan deal in the summer.

The striker managed a goal and an assist in his first two league appearances for the La Liga side. The Spanish media were impressed with his good start at Villarreal, but it’s not gone as well since then.

The Tottenham owned player made only one league start for the Spanish club. He has a goal and four assists from 351 minutes from 10 matches so far.

El Periódico Mediterráneo, a newspaper local to the Yellow Submarine, provides the latest on the 26-year-old’s future.

The Israel international has played over 100 minutes since October’s international break. Villarreal manager Marcelino has utilised him as a substitute. Last month, the Spurs man had expressed his frustration over his restricted role.

Due to his limited game time at Villarreal, the report claims the attacker ‘could be on the move’ in January.

According to El Periódico Mediterráneo, there’s a clause in the loan deal that allows him to ‘unilaterally terminate’ his temporary stay in January. It’s claimed Solomon’s entourage haven’t ruled out a Villarreal exit in the next window.

Marcelino has the attacking positions covered and Solomon’s exit is said to not impact the Spanish club’s plans.

Brentford have now set a clear valuation for Igor Thiago, according to Brazilian journalist Felipe Silva. The Premier League club reportedly want £70m for the striker, who has become one of the most productive Brazilian forwards in Europe this season.

The update comes as Aston Villa, Tottenham and clubs from Spain and Italy continue to make enquiries. Newcastle, who appeared among the Premier League clubs linked to Igor Thiago in earlier reports, no longer feature in the latest round of enquiries.

Brentford still do not plan to sell the 24-year-old in January, but they expect formal offers to arrive due to his form and age profile.

Silva states that Tottenham only established the price because interest is growing and approaches are likely to follow, they sound a little ahead of Aston Villa.

His scoring run has already placed him on the radar of Carlo Ancelotti and drawn attention across Europe. The valuation reflects both his output and the length of his contract, which runs to 2029 with an option for an extra year.

Brentford’s stance remains firm for now, and the next steps depend on whether any club decides to match the figure. The situation should grow more active as the window approaches.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has insisted he doesn’t regret his goal for Tottenham Hotspur against Marseille back in 2022, even though his current club don’t appear to have forgotten it.

Foot Marseille cover comments from the former Tottenham man today. He’s insisted he has no regrets about his Tottenham goal costing Marseille a place in Europe at the time.

The incident he’s referring to was back in November 2022. Marseille faced Tottenham at the Vélodrome in the final game of the Champions League group stages. A victory would have secured their place in the last 16.

They appeared to be on track for that as a goal from Chancel Mbemba put them in front. Clément Lenglet equalized after the break and a draw seemed likely. While that wasn’t the target for the French team, it did mean a place in the Europa League instead.

Then came the deciding moment. Hojbjerg struck late on in stoppage time to secure all three points for Spurs. That pushed Marseille to bottom of the table and saw them eliminated from all European competition.

Three years late, he now finds himself playing for Marseille. And they’ve not forgotten it either. He was questioned about the goal by a young player at FC Nueve 09 but insisted that he has no regrets.

“It’s hard to regret my goal against OM because at the time that’s what we had to do with Tottenham. Maybe that’s what led me to come to OM,” he said.

On November 16th, Gazzetta dello Sport reported Aleksandar Stanković’s stellar displays for Club Brugge have attracted Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United interest.

Inter Milan, who sold him in July, retain a €23m buyback clause for next summer. The fee will rise by €2m in 2027.

Calciomrecato.it backs up Tottenham’s interest and provides the latest on their efforts to sign him.

Inter’s idea is to bring him back next summer by activating the €23m clause. The 20-year-old fits the requirements the club’s owners. Their strategy is to sign young players on low salary and make profit from their future sale.

Stanković’s decision to join Club Brugge has paid off as he has played over 2,000 minutes from 27 matches. His performances have caught the attention of Spurs and other clubs.

Tottenham sporting director Fabio Paratici seems to be leading his side’s pursuit and has already made a move. It’s claimed the Spurs official has made contact to ask about the midfielder.

Calciomercato.it reports unnamed clubs from Spain and Germany are also in the picture to sign him. They add the Premier League’s financial power gives Tottenham an edge over other clubs. The outlet says this could also make Inter ‘falter’.

This would only be possible if Inter decide to sell Stanković after exercising the buyback clause.

Paratici has made a move and whether Tottenham will make advances for January or next summer remains to be seen.

Tottenham are back in the Brazilian press after their players inspired a goal celebration in the Brazilian Cup, and the link arrived through Rayan… A forward who has been strongly associated with Spurs in recent months.

The story was outlined by Globo Esporte in Brazil. They compared the scenes at Maracanã to what Tottenham produced in the Champions League the previous night.

Rayan scored Vasco’s equaliser in a 2-1 win over Fluminense and immediately sat on a bench by the byline, posing for photographers while his teammates stood beside him.

The image caught attention in Brazil because it mirrored Tottenham’s celebration against Slavia Prague in London. Mohamed Kudus scored and sat for a photo with Richarlison and Spence on either side.

Kudus has used this pose as a trademark celebration since his West Ham days. Now the sequence in the Champions League went viral.

It’s fair to highlight the timing: Spurs had been heavily linked with Rayan recently. As a result, the similarity between both celebrations only reinforced the resonance of Tottenham’s name around the player.

There is no suggestion that the celebration carries any hidden message, but the coincidence kept the Premier League club in the spotlight in Brazil.

Whether this adds any new twist to Rayan’s future is unclear for now. Yet his name continues to surface whenever Tottenham make the news in Brazil.

Tottenham Hotspur’s Luka Vušković has been on loan at Hamburg SV since last summer.

In September 2023, Spurs agreed a deal with Hajduk Split for him to arrive at the north London club in July. Prior to his arrival at Tottenham, he had loan spells at Radomiak Radom and KVC Westerlo.

Hamburger Abendblatt, an outlet local to the Bundesliga side, have published an interview with the Tottenham owned player.

When asked who manages his career, the 18-year-old admits he’s been pleased with his choices and development so far.

“Of course, I have an agent,” he said.

“Tottenham also decide which club is best for my development. Every step so far has been perfect for me. At Radom, I was guaranteed playing time if I trained well. Poland is a physically strong league. In Belgium, the intensity and quality were even higher. So, I’m taking it one step at a time.”

Tottenham have inserted a clause to cut short his loan stay in January.

Two months ago, SHZ stated Thomas Frank’s side can exercise it if they’re hit by injuries. The Croatia international now insists his focus is to stay at Hamburg SV until the end of this season.

“I haven’t discussed that [returning in January] with Tottenham. My focus is on HSV. I expect to be able to stay here until the end of the season. HSV is a great club. I’m very happy here,” Vušković explained.

The Tottenham man’s brother, Mario, is also at Hamburg SV. The latter is currently serving a long-term ban until the end of next year.

On October 23rd, the defender expressed his desire to extend his stay at Hamburg SV beyond this season to play alongside Mario. Fast forward to December and Luka has now reiterated his transfer wish.

“It’s my dream to play alongside my brother at HSV. I would give everything for that. Tottenham knows that too. But I’m their player and I’m under contract there. In football, you never know what will happen in the coming months. We’ll decide at the right time,” he added.

Yves Bissouma may have played his last game for Tottenham Hotspur, as he’s been included in Mali’s squad for the Africa Cup of Nations.

Africa Foot United report today that Mali coach Tom Saintfelt has released his list of selected players for the 2025 AFCON. The announcement is ‘marked’ by the return of Bissouma.

He’s been brought back into the national set up for the tournament. The Tottenham man’s return is one of the ‘major highlights’ of the announcement.

He’s missed the last few training camps but has now been included in what is a ‘revamped’ squad. Several key players are also returning alongside him. Eleven in the squad will be competing in their first Africa Cup of Nations.

Mali’s first game is against Zambia on Monday December 22nd. That means the Tottenham man is expected to link up with his nation in the coming days. That could mean he has now played his final game for Tottenham.

Bissouma hasn’t played for Tottenham this season. Reports throughout the summer have made it clear that Bissouma is not a part of their plans moving forwards.

A deal for an exit was not agreed at that point. Numerous reports have indicated clubs could come forward again in the January transfer window.

Now the midfielder is set to join up with Mali, which could mean his time at Spurs is officially at an end.

FC Metz’s Benjamin Stambouli says Paris Saint-Germain’s ambition convinced him to join them from Tottenham Hotspur in 2015.

The midfielder will come up against PSG when Metz host them in the league on Saturday. Ahead of this clash, Le Républicain Lorrain spoke to the 35-year-old.

Le10 Sport have relayed his comments on his decision to leave Tottenham for PSG.

The Frenchman came up through the ranks of Montpellier’s youth system and spent four years with their first team. He left them to join the north London club in 2014.

Mauricio Pochettino was then in charge at the Premier League side. Stambouli played less than 1,500 minutes from 25 matches for Spurs but still managed to attract PSG’s interest. in 2015.

In July 2015, the Ligue 1 winners reportedly paid around £6m to Tottenham to secure the midfielder’s services. Stambouli ha said he an opportunity to continue with the English club. However, he decided to turn his back on Tottenham and join PSG.

Le10 point out PSG had several big stars including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva, Marco Verratti, and Edinson Cavani at the time. This was one of the reasons he left Tottenham for PSG.

“At that point, I had the choice of staying at Tottenham and other options,” he said.

“But after thinking it over, I went for it. I went to England because I consider it to be the best league in the world. By signing with PSG, I had the opportunity to join a club with the ambition to become number one in the world.”

Stambouli spent one season in Paris before being sold to Schalke in 2016.

Julián Alvarez has expressed his disappointment over Atlético Madrid’s failure to sign Tottenham Hotspur’s Cristian Romero last summer.

Friday’s edition of Marca have published a detailed interview with the Argentine striker. The newspaper also asks him about the La Liga side’s interest in the Tottenham star.

In August, the centre-back extended his contract at Tottenham until 2029. Prior to that, there were repeated claims in Spain and Argentina about Atlético’s firm desire to secure his services.

Back in July, the Spanish press explained the Europa League winners rejected Atlético’s approach for the 27-year-old defender. Spurs were determined to retain him and were successful in their efforts.

Alvarez knows the Tottenham man very well as they play together for Argentina. The duo played a key role in their World Cup success in 2022.

Marca points out Atlético’s failure to sign Romero last summer. They then specifically ask the 25-year-old how he experienced this saga and whether he wanted the Spurs defender in Madrid.

“Yes, yes. Obviously, I would have liked to. Cuti is one of the best defenders in the world. I spend time with him for the national team, and I really think he’s a star, a competitive animal, very strong defensively,” he said.

“And yes, I had a few conversations with him, and it didn’t happen for various reasons, but hopefully one day we’ll be able to play together.”

Romero signing an extension at Spurs makes it more complicated for Atlético to sign him in the near future.